7:56: Card Check comes up. Language note–I notice that Peter Bacon calls it card check. The democrats call it EFCA, the Republicans go back and forth.
7:54: “There’s no obligation to know the salaries of other employees.” I take it someone has never paid Liar’s poker with pay envelopes.
7:53: Counter-counter-counter: “There’s a lack of information on both sides.”–partially, also a lack of animation. Can’t you call each other dirty hippies or capitalist pigs or something like that?
7:52-Counter-rebuttal: “There needs to be an end to it, as soon as you find out you get a discriminatory paycheck, you should sue. What is unreasonable is to say that you can accept a paycheck, wait 20 years, then sue people who never signed off on your paycheck.”
7:51-Rebuttal-“Every time a discriminatory paycheck is being given, it’s like a crime is being comitted. They should be given the opportunity to be punished. It’s like a crime is being comitted.”
7:50- Peyton goes into a technical dicussion about how extended discrimination will swing the balance of power unduly to the lawyers. Didn’t Shakespeare say, “first thing we do, let’s kill all the lawyers?”
7:49: Dylan catches Peyton’s slip. Apparently, American employers don’t need to discriminate to fire women.
7:47: Dyan Matthews–The question is whether discrimination should fall under increased statute of limitations.
7:46: Question from Peter Bacon: Is the Lily Ledbetter act a good idea? Hmm, I wonder what the response will be.
7:44: Card Check goes by without a single mention of union thugs, Jimmy Hoffa…c’mon Republicans. Make this liveblog intresting.
7:43: Time runs out on the Democrats and the Republicans begin. Peyton Miller takes the opening statement. He also begins with Ledbetter, which apparantly increases the costs of hiring women. Discrimination works?
7:42: The Employee Free Choice Act–card check comes up. By the Democrats, naturally.
7:40: Ellen Riley and Dylan Matthews, the Democratic representatives begin with the time-tested strategy: “Let me tell you a story.” Unfortunately, for those Beverly Hillbillies fans expecting a bouncy tune, Riley goes off on the rather depressing Ledbetter case. She tells it well, but I’m still not quite sure what it has to do with layoffs.
7:38: Peter Bacon, head of the Harvard Political Union, begins the debate with a quick introduction.
